He knows he's still a productive point guard in the NBA — one who helped lead Portland to the playoffs last season. He also knows the Nuggets, his old, new team, want Ty Lawson to be the starting point guard going into the future.

And because of that, the 35-year-old Miller says he expects the job to be up for grabs whenever it is training camp starts after the looming lockout. But he will not rock the boat with complaints on playing time.

"(Coach George Karl) knows I'm not going to cause any problems," said Miller today, speaking with assembled media for the first time since being traded to the Nuggets on draft night last Thursday. "I'm here to work, help guys get better and be a veteran leader."

Miller has started 915 of the 978 games in his 12 NBA seasons. He started all 81 regular-season games he played in last season and all six of Portland's playoff games. The Nuggets, however, have more of a reserve/mentor role in mind for him. Asked if he'd be alright with coming off of the bench, Miller stayed matter-of-fact.

"If that's the decision that the coach makes, every player has to deal with it in the league, not just me," Miller said. "So the main thing is fairness and hard work. Ty is going to get better, he's a good young player. I'm going to continue to push him, he's going to push me. I'm not going get caught up in the who is starting and who is not. At this point in my career, it will burn you out."

Miller also talked about getting past the personal angst he had with the organization after being traded to Phildalephia in 2006 in a deal that brought Allen Iverson to the Nuggets. He had not talked to Karl since then — until Sunday.

"I took it personal at that time," Miller said. "Honestly I took it personal, the trade. And that was my motivation every time we came back here and played. You've got to find ways to keep yourself motivated. Not just personal with the staff, personal as my motivation. We didn't have any conversation until yesterday."